Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-07-01

the families belonging to the church O.
which the Rev. T. De Wi.t Talmsge, D
D., is pastor have gone to the country
for the summer, but still the greatthrongS
OF people that for eighteen years have
been seen in and around Brooklyn Taber.
nacle on Sabbath days ere found there
1t is estimated that about 100000 stran.
gers have visited this church during the
past year. The hymn sung this morning
was
Salvation. Oh, the joyful sound
It's pleasure 10 our ears;
sovereign balm for every wound
\ cordial for our fears.
DR.. Talmage'5 text Yves: "He was q
mighty hunter before the Lord. Cen
esis X, 9. He said:
In our day hunting is q sport; but in
lands and the times infested with wild
beasts, it was @ matter of life or death
with the people. 1t was very different
from going out on sunshiny afternoon
with patent breech loader to shoot reed
birds on the fats, when Pollux and
Achilles and Diomedes went out to clear
the land of lions and tigers and beal 5.
Ny text sets forth Nimrod q hero when it
presents him with broad shoulders and
shaggy apparel, and sunbrowned face,
and arm punched with muscles-"a
mighty hunter before the Lord" think
| he used the bow and arrow with great
! success practicing archery.
! l have thought If it is such q grand
thing and such brave thing 20 clear
wild beasts out of country If it is not
d better and drawer thing to hunt down
and destroy those great evils of society
! that are stalking the land with fierce eye
and bloody paw, and sharp tUsk ard
! quick spring. have wondered il there
! is not such thing as Gospel hunting, By
which those who have been flying from
the truth may be captured for God and
/ heaven. The Lord Jesus in His sermon
used the art of angling as an illustration
when He said: 81 viii make you fishers
Of men" And SO l think l have author
! i.y for using hunting for an illustration
OF Gospel truth; and | pray God that
! there may be many man il this congre-
CATION who Shall begin TO study Gospel
archery, of whom 1t may, after awhile, be
said: CHE was a mighty hunter before
the Lord"
How much awkward Christian work
there is done ii the world! How many
good people there are who drive souls
AWAY FROM CHRIST
instead Of bringing them to Him! Re
ligious blunderers who upset more than
they right. Their gun has crooked bar
rel, and kicks as it goes off. They are
like clumsy comrade who goes along
with skilful hunters; at the very moment
he ought to be most quiet, he is cracking
an alder or falling over log and fright
ening away the game. How few Christ
len people have ever learned the lesson of
which l read at the beginning Of the ser
vice, how that the Lord Jusus
Christ at the well went from
talking about cup Of water
TO the most practical religious truths,
which won the WOman's soul for God!
Jesus in the wilderness was breaking
bread TO the people. think it was good
bread; it was very light bread, and the
yeast had done it's work thoroughly.
Christ, after He had broken the bread,
said TO the people: Beware of the
yeast, or of the leaven of the PhariSees"
So natural transition it was, and how
easily they all understood Him But how
few Christian people who understand
how to fasten the truths of God and re-
ligiOG To the souls OK men, Truman Os-
borne, one OF the eyangelists who went
through this country some years ago,
had wonderful art in the right direc-
ton. He came to my fathers house one |
day, and, while we were all seated in the !
room, said: "Mr. Tslmage, are al your |
children Christians?" Father said:
ayes, ell but Dewitt" Then Truman Os- |
borne looked down into the Ere place, and |
began to tell story Of storm that !
came on the mountains, and ell the sheep |
were in the fold; but there was one Lamp |
outside that persisted in the storm. Had |
he locked me in the eye, I should have |
been argered when he told me that story; |
but he looked into the fireplace, and ii !
wss so pathetiCGlly and beautifully done |
that never found any peace until was
sure l was inside the fold, where the |
ether sheep are.
The archers of old times studied their |
art. They were very precise in the mat
ter. TIE old books gave special direc-
sl5Es as to how the archer should 90, and |
as 70 what Gu archer should do. He |
must stand erect and firm, his left foot 8
little in advance of mis- right foot, With |
his left hand ne must take hold of the |
bow in the middle, and then with the
three fingers and the thumb of MS right |
hsnd he should lay hold of the arrow and |
direction given But how clumsy we
are about religious work. How little
skill and care we exercise. How often
our arrows miss the mark! On, that we
might learn
THE ART OF DOING GOOD
and become "mighty hunters before the
Lordrn
In the first place, if you want to be ef-
fectual in doing good, you must be very
sure of your weapon. There Was some
thing very fascinating about the archery
Of elden times. Perhaps you do not
know what they could do with the bow
aud arrow. Why the chief battles fought
Dy the English PlsntGgenets were with the
ong bow. They would take the arrow
u polished wood, and feather it
with the plume of bird, and then it
would fly from the bow-string Ct plated
silk. TIE broad fields of Agincourt, and
Solway Moss, and Neville's Cross heard
The loud thrum Of the 2rcher's bow
string. Now, my Christian friends, we
have g mightier weapon than that. It is
lie arrow of the gospel; it is q sharp
arrow; it is 8 straight arrow; it is
from the wing of the dove OF
5od's spirit; it flies from bow made
,ut Of the wood of the cross. AS far as
ON estimate or calculate, it has brought
Town 400, 100000 souls, Paul knew how
o bring The notch of that arrow on to
hat bow-string, and its whirr was heard
through the Corinthisn thesters, and !
through the courtroom, until the knees
If Felix